Trillanes is newest senator; proclamation set on Friday

(Updated 12:30 p.m.) The National Board of Canvassers (NBC) will proclaim on Friday this week former Navy Lieutenant Senior Grade Antonio Trillanes IV as the 11th winning senatorial candidate of the May 14 polls. Trillanes, a participant in the failed Oakwood Mutiny in 2003, was finally considered a winner after the NBC counted the votes from Surigao del Norte. He took 16th place there with 44,604 votes, giving him a nationwide total of 11,138,067. This leaves Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III, a colleague of Trillanes at the Genuine Opposition (GO), and Juan Miguel Zubiri of Team Unity as the contenders for the final slot in the Magic 12. Trillanes now leads Pimentel by 272,666 and Zubiri, by 384,227. The NBC still has to tabulate votes from Maguindanao which has 337,108 registered voters and 12 precincts in Basilan at least 31,000 voters. "I really believe it is mathematically impossible to overcome the lead of Mr. Trillanes. In view of this, the board has decided to have a partial proclamation again, in favor of Mr. Trillanes," said Benjamin Abalos, chair of the NBC and the Commission on Elections (Comelec). "The board has decided to have a partial proclamation again tomorrow morning (9:30 a.m.) before the Maguindanao hearing," he said. In a radio interview, GO spokesman Adel Tamano expressed elation with the development. Tamano said that, "We are very happy with that. That's wonderful news." He urged Trillanes' counsel Rey Robles to immediately ask the court to allow the winning candidate to attend the proclamation rites tomorrow. "Our preference is that during the proclamation, that he be physically there," Tamano added. Tamano noted that NBC's decision came a day after GO urged elections commissioners to proclaim Trillanes. GO then said that the waiting time would leave a window for the administration to rig the poll results. Robles, in a separate interview on dzBB radio, said every legal effort would be done to bring Trillanes to the NBC proclamation. "We will be working on that, we will do our best ... we are hopeful that Makati regional trial court-Branch 148 will grant our request," Robles said in Filipino. He added that, "I think Senator Trillanes' request is such a small thing (maliit na bagay lang)." Trillanes, a member of the mutinous Magdalo group, is currently detained at the Philippine Marine Corps headquarters in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City. He has been charged with coup d' etat over the Oakwood Mutiny and is undergoing court martial proceedings. Trillanes is the fourth graduate of the Philippine Military Academy to make up the new Senate. He is a member of PMA Class '95. Other PMA alumni are Senators Rodolfo Biazon of Class '61, as well as classmates Gregorio Honasan and Panfilo Lacson of Class '71. Political analysts had earlier warned that a supposed "military bloc" would wield tremendous influence in the Senate. - GMANews.TV